The Life of Joshhttps://joshie.com
Computer Engineer, Security Consultant, and Tech Nerd.Sun, 11 Sep 2016 19:20:11 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifSome Rights Reserved41.207594-73.977727http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/joshie/UohShttps://feedburner.google.comLazyKali reboothttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/qksYteuezMg/
https://joshie.com/2016/08/28/lazykali-reboot/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 18:41:15 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=651Continue Reading →]]>I am making available the beginning of a re-write of what I think is a helpful utility for Kali Linux systems. These systems are used for penetration testing, and are not typically day-to-day systems. I find myself doing the same installs and maintenance with every re-install of Kali so I wanted to create a tool to simplify this. It appears that until about 3 years ago someone else had a similar idea, but they seem to have abandoned it. If anyone knows if there is a current version of lazykali out there in the Interweb could you please point me to it so that I might contribute to that instead of maintaining this fork. If Reaperz73 sees this please contact me to let me know you are out there.

I stumbled across the lazykali utility while working on my Kali Linux knowledge. Every copy that I found was about 3+ years old. There are things in the script that might not have to be there any more, and many things that need updates. The original author’s website is just a parked advertising site. I emailed the last known email address for the original author, and have so far received no response so I’m moving forward with my own re-write of this tool;

I’ll be working through all of the menus to ensure that any options in this application are compliant with how Kali 2016.01 and beyond function. Please use caution with the first few versions, and feel free to file issues. The goal is to make this something that helps someone get a system up to speed right after install, and to have some maintenance tools as well. If there are any tools in this utility that are installed by default by Kali then they might be removed unless there is good reason to keep them. No need to duplicate efforts. This tool can be both for the expert as well as the new user to have an easy way to add all the tweaks that are usually applied when you are setting up a system.

Some tools like atom from GitHub are meant to ease coding exploits. Some tools like LibreOffice are meant to ease generation of reports or presentations without having to go to another device. Have a tool that you always find you install? Let me know what it does and why it’s helpful and I’ll add it.

As of today, the following changes have been made;

Aug 28, 2016 – 2016082801

Added libreoffice to Productivity (for making reports on audits)

Aug 27, 2016 – 2016082704

Fixed up Kali Update menu

Added WiFiPhisher to Extras list

Removed Bleeding Edge Repos from Extras list since it is in Kali Update now

Modified Credits to point to fork of Yamas that actually works on Kali

Initial commit of old script from 2013

Updated Bleeding Edge Repos to format the way Kali says to

Added Bleeding Edge option to Kali Update

Added a Dist Upgrade option to the Kali Update menu

Corrected self-update code to point at GitHub Created this change log

To be added to upcoming builds;

tor to Productivity (for research on the TOR network)

Tor Browser install to /opt (for research on the TOR network)

atom from GitHub to Productivity (for coding)

git to Productivity (for coding)

If anyone would like to contribute to this project please let me know. Since the script has a self-update mechanism I’ll want to ensure that the only people with write privs are properly vetted, but please feel free to send patches if you have code improvements.

Development tasks I need help with;

Remove installers that are already in a stock Kali 2016.1 install.

Ensure any installers that can be done with apt-get are done that way rather than source where possible.

Add new tools.

Code cleanup so the UI is consistent on every menu.

Migration from Bash to Python and move to /opt/lazykali/ (Still need to investigate if this is worthwhile.)

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/08/28/lazykali-reboot/feed/0lazykali logojoshualevitskylazykali UIhttps://joshie.com/2016/08/28/lazykali-reboot/Kali Linux install on a Lenovo T430shttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/AaWIx_4AFJ8/
https://joshie.com/2016/07/29/kali-linux-install-on-a-lenovo-t430s/#respondFri, 29 Jul 2016 13:08:47 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=606Continue Reading →]]>I have been working with Kali Linux lately for the pentest tools, and to keep my skills current. To that end I wanted to put the latest version of Kali on a Lenovo T430s laptop. I started with the kali-linux-2016.1-amd64.iso download. Then I wrote that to a USB key using Universal USB Installer ( http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ ) and tried to install Kali on my laptop.

The first thing I noticed was that the “default” boot choice did nothing. There is an option to “Install using speech synthesis” I believe it is. That option runs the install fine. There’s mention during the install that it looks like Unetbootin was used to make the key, and that they know there are problems reported with that. Perhaps UUI uses some code from Unetbootin so they look the same. Either way I was good with the text install. I know from installing in to VMWare using the ISO directly that there should be other install options, but for me this didn’t matter because I had a good install at the end of this.

If you encounter a strange issue where it says there is no cd inserted then there is an easy fix. Say <no> to finding a cd, and then on the menu pick to open a shell or press ALT+F2 to get to a shell. make sure /cdrom exists, and that the USB key is mounted to it with the following commands. It happened to me once as I was experimenting.

mkdir /cdrom
mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /cdrom

Next came a prompt saying that I needed non-free drivers for my Ethernet and WiFi. These files are not included in the Kali ISO but are downloadable here -> http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi/__v24.html and the easiest thing to do is to put the files on a second USB key that is in the system when you boot up to do the install. The laptop has 3 USB ports so I was lazy and didn’t try putting them on the key that had the Kali ISO installed to it. Specifically I needed these 2 drivers;

That’s all there was to it. The laptop works great on Kali. Assuming you aren’t using it for evil-doing then you may want to setup Dropbox on it for bringing files over. This is easily done as well by going to the Linux install page here; https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx

Grab the 64bit Debian .deb installer since Kali is based on Debian. Once downloaded just open the terminal and type this to install;

dpkg -i ~/Downloads/dropbox_2015.10.28_amd64.deb

The above command assumes that the file is in your Downloads folder and is names that name. Adjust accordingly. There will now be a DropBox app on your Kali instance. Launch it and login, and you will see ~/Dropbox/ appear and begin to sync. All done.

Hopefully these tips will help someone avoid having to do a little bit of research, and get started just a little bit faster. One last tip is that if you are going to use the tools to setup a fake WiFi then make sure to get yourself a supported USB WiFi device because likely the internal one will be connected to the WiFi network you are working on, and you may be somewhere that Ethernet is not practical. Aside from WiFi spoofing tricks the laptop is great for Kali without adding any other hardware.

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/07/29/kali-linux-install-on-a-lenovo-t430s/feed/040.937502 -75.82614840.937502-75.826148kali_linux_logojoshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2016/07/29/kali-linux-install-on-a-lenovo-t430s/Hacking made easy and good readshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/68GVfm6aClU/
https://joshie.com/2016/07/22/hacking-made-easy-and-good-reads/#respondSat, 23 Jul 2016 01:51:52 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=590Continue Reading →]]>I was just watching Mr. Robot … an excellent TV show that any security person should find interest in, and they use actual hacking tools and techniques in the show. I saw the Social Engineering Toolkit used on S2 E1. I’ve used Kali Linux before, but never gave much thought to the SET application. If you have 22 minutes to spare and want to see how easy it is to social engineer your way to compromise credentials then watch this…

The kid in the video you can tell is not very far along in Computer Science which makes this even more crazy at how easy it is. Although his example shows a compromise against a host on the same network, the example would work just as well if I was on my network, and wanted to hack you. Standard tools that are so easy to use that you don’t really have to understand 100% of what you are doing. It’s a little scary.

I had the privilege to meet Kevin several years ago. I usually do physical security at a conference called Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) https://hope.net in New York City. It’s a recurring conference that is actually going on this weekend, but I wasn’t able to make it this year. When I met Kevin I was assigned to his mother and grandmother there as their security person at HOPE because I had medical and security experience. He’s a pretty interesting guy, and in his book he goes in to detail about how he penetrated organizations. In this book it’s largely the phone company, and his interactions with the FBI. Hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to learn from him again. Maybe at the next HOPE in two years.

Once you get hooked on Kevin’s writings then check out these other two books…

The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers
Kevin D. Mitnick (Author), William L. Simon (Author)http://amzn.to/2a4aKaj

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/07/22/hacking-made-easy-and-good-reads/feed/0mr-robot-logojoshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2016/07/22/hacking-made-easy-and-good-reads/Can you overfeed an infant?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/uUsNpSha7QA/
https://joshie.com/2016/06/26/can-you-overfeed-an-infant/#respondSun, 26 Jun 2016 13:26:23 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=506Continue Reading →]]>For Stacey and I the birth of Erikson has been almost like the birth of a first child. Even though both of us have been through the first years of raising children before, we feel as though we can’t remember any of what went on. Perhaps the sleep deprivation causes memory loss during the early days. Everything seems new, and a lot harder than when we were younger. We think maybe we’re old.

One of the biggest issues started the first week. Baby Erikson was 6 pounds 14 ounces when he was born on April 22, 2016. We planned to breast feed if possible because of the health benefits, and hey it’d be great to save money on formula and for Stacey to get to burn 500 extra calories a day making milk. Erikson was 6 pounds 4 ounces when he left the hospital. The loss in weight happens because milk takes a few days to come in. Every night was a nightmare. Erikson would scream constantly, and wanted to feed constantly as well. At the Pediatrician they told us he wasn’t gaining weight. We couldn’t figure it out, and so Stacey pumped to see what would come out. We found out why he was hungry because Stacey only got about 1 ounce from each side and when she had been feeding him she’d only have him stay on one side per feeding. We started supplementing based on instructions from the Pediatrician. Then Stacey’s health took a turn for the worst, and she was in the hospital. I had Erikson on my own, and she was now on blood pressure medications that prevented any breast feeding. By his 1 month check-up he had now gained almost 4 pounds in only a couple of weeks of being fed formula. That was when the Pediatrician told us that we were feeding Erikson too much, and had to cut down on formula.

I asked her, “How do we feed him less? We feed him when he’s hungry.” She went on to explain to us how he isn’t really hungry all the time. She explained to us how we don’t try to do other things besides feeding him to calm him. This was the start of my lack of faith in our Pediatrician. Of course I know my baby. I’ve not been away from him for even a single day since he was born. I know his happy noises. I know his sad noises. I know that when he shoves his hand in his mouth and spits out his pacifier that he’s hungry, and I know that he cries a little bit differently when he’s hungry vs. when he’s lonely or in pain. Anyone who is a parent would know these things after one month of being there around the clock. I asked if I should dilute his formula. She said no. I asked if I should let him scream. She said no. I asked for any practical advice about how to “feed him less,” but she had no answer. She told us to stick with 3 ounce bottles, and to spread them out. It was a nightmare when we tried to go to that. He was hungry every 1.5 hours, and screaming constantly for food.

Between the 1 and 2 month visits I had been reading as much as I could about feeding infants to try to make things better. I took advice from all the message boards out there with less authority than articles from the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organizations, but still it can be helpful to get information from the average parent. Everything I read from other parents said that babies will not overfeed even on formula unless they have a health condition causing it, and that you should never feed anything other than breast milk or formula to an infant before 6 months old.

We decided to ignore our Pediatrician about only giving 3 ounce bottles, and we started a log of all feedings so that we could get a picture of how much he eats, and how big the gaps were between feedings. We wanted to see if he tended to eat the same amount of formula every day if we simply fed him when he was hungry. When we started we were giving 4 ounces in each feeding. Things got immediately better compared to 3 ounces that our Pediatrician ordered us to follow. He was waiting 2 hours now between feedings instead of 1.5.

Here is what it looked like in our log when we were feeding him on demand with only 4 ounce bottles when we were just starting to ignore the Pediatrician’s demand that we feed our baby 3 ounce bottles:

Having the data is important so that you can see he had 10 ounces less when we fed him how he wanted to be fed. He doesn’t know how to overeat. He just knows that his tummy hurts when it’s empty, and it takes him a certain amount of time to digest all the formula in his tummy.

The 2 month check-up came, and he weighed 14 pounds 1 ounce, and was 22 inches long. I wasn’t able to be at that appointment, but Stacey told me that the Pediatrician was angry. I thought it was interesting that the Pediatrician told Stacey during the appointment that Erikson should only have 36 ounces in a day, and that was exactly what he had on June 23, the day of his appointment. I had forgotten to print the feeding log for Stacey so unfortunately she didn’t have our data for the appointment. Did I mention lack of sleep causes some forgetfulness? Again the Pediatrician repeated her message of “feed him less.” She also told Stacey to put cereal in his bottle to make him have more time between bottles. I wish I was there because feeding infants cereal in their bottle has been shown to be ineffective in even causing infants to sleep for longer periods at night, and what’s more, feeding solids to an infant less than 6 months old has been linked to weight issues later in life.

Several studies have proven that filling your baby’s belly with a bit of cereal before bedtime won’t help you avoid night feedings. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend ever putting cereal in a bottle — or introducing your baby to solid foods until around 6 months, when she should be getting all the nutrition she needs from breast milk or formula. What’s more, this practice could put your baby at risk for excess weight gain, because she can wind up getting more calories than she needs, cautions Dr. Tomaselli. “A healthy baby eating a regular diet should be able to sleep through the night on her own by about 6 months.

Building on prior recommendations for the timing of the introduction of solids, a 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement by the Section on Breastfeeding encouraged delaying the introduction of solid foods (including cereal) until a child is 6 months of age for exclusively breastfed infants and 4–6 months for infants who are formula-fed.

As you might imagine I have completely lost faith in our Pediatrician. Based on this topic alone we are not going to continue to see her. I would advise other parents to read as much as you can from authoritative sources, and also consider what other parents have to say when trying to do the best for your baby. It’s hard taking care of a newborn. Some nights I cry because I’m so tired, but I know it’s only this hard for a short time. It’s been getting easier lately. Feeding is such a major part of infant care that I simply had to write this. Hopefully I can help at least one parent to feed their infant when he or she is hungry, and to not feed their infant any solids including cereal in the bottle until 6 months old. I’m willing to cry at night for 6 months if it means that my baby can life a healthier life. We are going to continue to feed him on demand, and keep a log to see how he is trending.

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/06/26/can-you-overfeed-an-infant/feed/0Erikson_1month_2monthjoshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2016/06/26/can-you-overfeed-an-infant/Getting started with Blogging using WordPress.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/LYGTtvKZR_w/
https://joshie.com/2016/06/25/getting-started-with-blogging-using-wordpress-com/#respondSat, 25 Jun 2016 18:02:58 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=388Continue Reading →]]>So you’ve decided that you wanted a platform to write. Why not use FaceBook, Google+, or even MySpace? In my opinion those platforms are good for argume…. Err.. I mean conversations, but they aren’t really the best place to publish a review of a piece of software, or articles to help configure routers, or most things that are more information than a blurb or rant. Blogging gives you the ability to categorize, tag, provide permanent links, and control formatting on your writing. It lets you share what you want, in the way that you want. For me I’m sharing links to my blog through other platforms so that anyone who finds an article will find it, but that’s about all. I will say that I do like the way that LinkedIn has approached writing articles, but not all of mine will be worth sharing there so I’ll opt to write it all here, and share to LinkedIn as appropriate.

For many people starting to work on a Blog there is an initial learning curve to setting things up that can be quite hard. One simple option is to use WordPress.com to host your Blog, and to simplify setup. There is a free plan that will let you get started, and you can setup a Blog in about 5 minutes. Simply go to WordPress.com and create an account.

If you use the wizard to setup your site then are probably picking a theme for your site right now. Nobody wants to look like every other site right? Here is where you might be tempted to go to another site to buy a WordPress theme. Don’t do this! You can’t use outside themes with WordPress.com’s hosted system. WordPress has many free themes, and some premium ones as well. The template used on this site is a free one at the time I wrote this. It took me some time to find this template, but there is likely a free template that you’ll like as well. If you find that you simply must use a template from another website then you should look at other companies who host WordPress services. It’s simply not an option on WordPress.com. If you did end up using another service then check out http://themeforest.net for some great themes.

The next thing to think about is what you want the address to be. Do you want http://JoshuaFF.wordpress.com or do you want something personal like http://joshie.com? Once you have thought that through then the rest is easy. In the free version of WordPress.com you can use a WordPress.com address, and in the paid version you can use a personal address. If you upgrade later you can switch to a personal address. Don’t rush out to register a domain name just yet! As a paid subscriber you get an address through WordPress. If you already have an address then you can use that if you want. For most people the free version is good enough. Especially when you are just starting out.

Once you have an address and a theme selected then you are ready to go. If you get stuck there is online help to get you out of a jam. Post your first article and maybe post a link here in the comments once you are setup. There’s actually a wizard that WordPress has that walks you through setting up a site. It’ll ask you to pick a theme and address to try and help you through initial setup.

As you look at your account you’ll see something else in WordPress called Pages. Pages are the web pages on your site like the Home Page or Contact pages. As you customize your site these are helpful to customize as well. In my case I changed the settings to show my Blog entries as my Home Page. By default the Home Page is a customizable page. Depending on your preference you may want this too.

When you get more involved in Blogging you may want to install apps on your computer or phone to allow you to easy compose articles wherever you are. WordPress has apps here to use: apps.wordpress.com.

I hope this has been helpful to show that it can be very easy to get started with Blogging. Don’t get too stressed over all the options to customize at first. No matter how you customize your Blog, you’ll not lose the writing you do.

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/06/25/getting-started-with-blogging-using-wordpress-com/feed/0joshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2016/06/25/getting-started-with-blogging-using-wordpress-com/Trying out WordPresshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/QUwtaoWQoZk/
https://joshie.com/2016/06/23/trying-out-wordpress/#respondFri, 24 Jun 2016 00:54:36 +0000http://joshie.com/?p=221Continue Reading →]]>My wife had an interesting opportunity come up for work, and the description mentioned that she might maintain a website. I looked, and they used WordPress. Back at Time Inc. I used WordPress for a minute, but it’s been a long time. Since my blog was doing literally nothing over on Blogger I figured why not move everything here, and start new? This is a recurring theme for me in tech. I want to try something out so I jump all in on using it. Sometimes it works out, and other times I jump again because it stinks. WordPress is pretty neat. I debated setting up my own server so that I could host the software, but SaaS is where it’s at these days. I don’t need headaches maintaining servers any more. Been there, and done that too many times. So hey maybe you’ll see me post here. I’ve been thinking of trying to do more of the blogging thing than the FaceBook thing. Too many battles going on FaceBook. It’s just not a fun place any more. If anyone knows of a good free template that you can use with the hosted version of WordPress let me know. I liked this template mostly, but there are things I’m not happy with.

]]>https://joshie.com/2016/06/23/trying-out-wordpress/feed/0joshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2016/06/23/trying-out-wordpress/Remember, remember the Fifth of November….http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/PpjgsnQLJMA/
https://joshie.com/2015/08/09/remember-remember-the-fifth-of-november/#respondSun, 09 Aug 2015 16:00:00 +0000http://joshuaff.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/remember-remember-the-fifth-of-november]]>Join the march on November 5th, 2015.http://anonhq.com/join-us-on-the-million-mask-march-on-nov…/

]]>https://joshie.com/2015/08/09/remember-remember-the-fifth-of-november/feed/0joshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2015/08/09/remember-remember-the-fifth-of-november/Interview about Google Glasshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/3m1fao_O2-8/
https://joshie.com/2014/04/23/interview-about-google-glass/#respondWed, 23 Apr 2014 04:34:00 +0000http://joshuaff.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/interview-about-google-glassContinue Reading →]]>Tonight I did an interview about Google Glass as it relates to Firefighting and EMS;

I think it went well. I had the questions ahead of time and had my notes up on my screen but at the beginning of the video I was stupidly staring at my image in the bottom right corner of my screen which resulted in my eyes looking closed. I caught on and soon you see my eyes more. I think I did pretty well. There was one point I meant to make but somehow it didn’t get said. For Firefighter use of a variant of Google Glass I forgot to say that there needs to be a way to handle swiping. I was thinking if there was a switch you could move that with your gloved hand. Aside from that I think it went well…

Everyone who knows me knows that I struggle with public speaking. Years ago I would never ever do it. I failed my communication class in college over my fear. Towards the end at Time Inc I would speak more and people said I did OK. When I left for Absolute it was for a job that is entirely public speaking but in a more personal environment. Usually myself and 1 to 4 other people. I was thrilled to be asked to do this interview because I knew it would be seen by more people and so there was personal risk. It felt really good after.

Yesterday I also did something that scared me. I was doing my weekly Fire training and I became frustrated in a maze and gave up. I took a break and then went back to the maze and accomplished the task that I had trouble with and then did it a second time. I’m going to make every effort to keep doing things that scare me because ultimately it is what will help me grow.

]]>https://joshie.com/2014/04/23/interview-about-google-glass/feed/0joshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2014/04/23/interview-about-google-glass/Nest Learning Thermostathttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/1AuSssLG2pM/
https://joshie.com/2013/04/13/nest-learning-thermostat/#commentsSat, 13 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +0000http://joshuaff.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/nest-learning-thermostatContinue Reading →]]>Everyone knows I am completely hooked on new technology. I think technology to me is like shoes to many women. I see something amazing and have to try it. My tech of the day is the Nest Learning Thermostat. Check out this video and then tell me you don’t want one; (If you tell me you don’t want one you are lying.) The story behind the company is interesting as well.

The one big thing someone could object to is the $250 price tag. I admit this is the only thing that made me shy away, but I thought a lot about it and the saving on electricity and heat should, over the years, make up for the cost. It will immediately cut down my heat/electric usage however which is good for the environment. It’ll also make the house more comfortable which is a soft return that isn’t cash but a comfortable life has value. Thermostats have always annoyed me. They have been inaccurate about temperature and hard to program. I always find myself using the Hold button to lock the temp because it’s so much effort to get the thermostat programmed just right. By using the Hold button I waste energy all the time.

I decided I could justify just getting a single unit to see how it goes. I bought it the other day and left it in the corner slightly afraid to try to install it because I’m not always the best at installing devices in a house. I checked out this video and it gave me confidence to try to do the install myself;

I have to say that it was just as easy as the video. I took off the old thermostat. Labeled the wires. In the old thermostat there was a wire bridging Rh to Rc which I wondered about but in the manual they mention what to do if you see that. If you read the short printed instructions and label the wires with the included stickers you will have zero trouble. The unit I replaced was rectangular, and wouldn’t you know it… Nest includes a rectangular plate so you can cover up the holes or lack of paint that was under the previous unit. They even include a metal mounting plate if your thermostat is on an electrical box. They thought of EVERYTHING.

Mounting it on the wall is a snap. There’s a level in the mounting plate so you know that it’s mounted level. The wires get inserted in clearly labeled holes in the mounting plate. It reminded me of my old stereo speakers. You press the button and push in the wire. Very very easy.

Once connected the unit asked me for my login info for my WiFi network. It updated it’s software and then took me through a step by step setup. In my case I replaced a heating thermostat so it only asked me questions related to the heat. As part of the setup it showed me which wires it believed I connected which was great because it verified to me that I put the wires in far enough. At the end of the setup I turned up the heat and checked if the furnace kicked in. It did. Success! So I turned down the heat and I heard the valve close near the furnace and I knew I was good to go.

I am not sure how they did this, maybe by detecting my iPhone was on the same WiFi as the thermostat, but they automatically asked to add the thermostat to the Nest app on my iPhone. I assume they do this by seeing the devices were on the same WiFi, and that the Nest was not yet bound to an account. Just one of the many little cool things they do. So the thermostat is in and it took me all of 15 min from opening the box to finishing the install. I plan to now replace the other units in the house after this success. With the warm weather here I think I’ll replace the since A/C thermostat next and wait to do the other Heat units in the fall.

If you have been thinking about getting a Nest, and can get past the cost to see the value, then I hope my story gives you the confidence to know you can do it yourself. Before buying one you should check that it works with your system using their compatibility check. If you chicken out on the install you can always buy the concierge service to have a professional installer come. Some people are just too busy to do installations themselves. The concierge service is the perfect answer. I think the folks at Nest have finally fixed the problems that traditional thermostats have, and I hope they do very well. I look forward to software enhancements, and whatever the next version of this unit is capable of.

]]>https://joshie.com/2013/04/13/nest-learning-thermostat/feed/2joshualevitskyhttps://joshie.com/2013/04/13/nest-learning-thermostat/NewsBlur Subscriptions to sharehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshie/UohS/~3/-iiJn5uIPIQ/
https://joshie.com/2013/04/09/newsblur-subscriptions-to-share/#respondTue, 09 Apr 2013 14:23:00 +0000http://joshuaff.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/newsblur-subscriptions-to-shareContinue Reading →]]>To help my IT friends at my job I’m leaving, I’m trying to share things that will help them. Below is a link to my NewsBlur subscriptions. I have A LOT of Mac stuff in here. The NewsBlur system costs $2/month ($3 if you are feeling it is worth it and have spare $). It is extremely worthwhile especially since the demise of Google Reader. There’s also an iPhone and iPad app you can use on the go. The stuff in the Engineering – Mac feeds will help someone do most of what I do.

If you join I’m “jlevitsk” on the system if you want to follow my postings. Once you sign up for the service you can import the below XML to get all the feeds I’ve been following.

http://www.newsblur.com – NewsBlur is a social news reader that’s built to simplify the process of reading news and make it easier to share your favorite stories with your friends.

WHY:WHAT MAKES NEWSBLUR BETTER

News reading: With first-class iOS, Android, and web apps, NewsBlur is an easy and organized way to read the news wherever you are.

Training: By using NewsBlur’s training filters, you can hide stories you don’t want to see and highlight the stories that interest you. Teaching NewsBlur your preferences (or lack thereof) for certain blogs, authors, and topics cuts down on the noise and connects you with the news that interests you most.

Social: Sharing and talking about the news is not only fun, but allows you to break out of your routine and embrace the serendipity of your friends’ tastes.

Blurblogs: Even if your friends aren’t NewsBlur users, they can keep up with what you’re reading through a public blog of all the stories you’ve shared, including your comments.

WHEN:THE STORY BEHIND NEWSBLUR

In New York City during the summer of 2009, Samuel Clay wanted a better way to read the news. So he built the first version of NewsBlur almost entirely underground on the A train.

In mid-2010, NewsBlur launched to the public and to favorable reviews. In October 2010, premium accounts launched, paying for NewsBlur’s increasing server costs.

After Samuel enters Y Combinator in the summer of 2012, he’s able to launch lots of new features, like Blurblogs. Samuel and his dog Shiloh celebrate with champagne and biscuits.